The second Grand Sumo tournament of the year begins this weekend! The 2025 haru basho (Spring Tournament) goes down in Osaka and will feature a bit of history, with newly crowned yokozuna Hoshoryu competing in his first tournament since achieving that ultimate rank.
The rankings for this tournament came out a week ago (with a few surprises). Now it’s time for all the sumotori (sumo wrestlers) across Grand Sumo’s six divisions to put up or shut up and fight for their ranking over the coming 15-day tournament.
Below are five storylines I’m particularly interested in. Together they make a compelling argument for why you should get into sumo and tune in over the next few weeks (I’ll tell you how you can do that in a different article later this week).
Yokozuna Hoshoryu has arrived
The January tournament saw a changing of the guard at the highest rank of sumo. Midway through that tournament the 73rd yokozuna Terunofuji announced his retirement from the sport (as a wrestler). He was the only yokozuna in grand sumo at that time. However, the possibility of a ‘no-kozuna’ period (with no yokozuna ranked wrestler in the rankings) was quickly dashed thanks to ozeki Hoshoryu winning the tournament (in dramatic play-off fashion). That victory, his second ever top division title, earned him the promotion to become the 74th yokozuna.
Hoshoryu has accepted his promotion, made his solemn vows, adorned his special tsuna (the white belt only yokozuna can wear) and performed the special shrine blessings he is now obligated to do. All that’s left is for him to compete.
The March tournament will mark his debut as the sports top ranked rikishi. And the eyes of Japan, and sumo fans everywhere, will be on him.
A yokozuna is expected to dominate every tournament they compete in. The 25 year-old Mongolian will need to deal with that pressure. In addition, he will need to contend with the pressure that has been added to his plate by a few irksome sumo elders in the Japan Sumo Association.
During his promotion, there were some dissenting voices regarding his fitness for yokozuna. Some of those voices discussed how Hoshoryu’s record of losing to lower ranked maegashira opponents was very un-yokozuna like. Other comments were more prejudiced and expressed a desire for Hoshoryu to act more Japanese on the dohyo (ring) and less Mongolian (which those elders equate to being overly emotional).
Hoshoryu is usually unflappable in the ring, so it will be interesting to see how he handles all the pressures that have come with his promotion (something which has been his life’s ultimate goal and desire). In his debut tournament as an ozeki (the rank immediately below yokozuna) he appeared to struggle a little, going 8-7.
As a yokozuna he’ll be expected to win at least 10 bouts this tournament.
Kotozakura in a corner
Kotozakura, along with Hoshoryu, was in line for a yokozuna promotion in January. This was due to Kotozakura winning the previous tournament, in November.
However, Kotozakura had a torrid tournament in January, finishing with a 5-10 record (the worst of his career and his first losing record in fifteen straight tournaments). Kotozakura was injured during the tournament, but decided to fight through it.
Some outlets in Japan reported that Kotozakura’s father and oyakata (stable master), the former Kotonowaka, had refused Kotozakura’s request to bow out of the tournament due to injury. It is also reported that this may have stemmed from a promise Kotonowaka made Kotozakura give at the grave of Kotozakura’s grandfather, the 53rd yokozuna who also wrestled under the name Kotozakura.
The 5-10 record means Kotozakura is kadoban for the first time in his career. The only way an ozeki can lose their promotion is if they have back-to-back losing records. Kadoban, which literally means “in a corner”, means someone is coming off a losing record and hoping not to get their second.
Unfortunately for Kotozakura, he hasn’t looked great in public practises leading up to this tournament.
See below the cross training video from when Kotozakura’s Sadogatake stable met wrestlers from the Takekuma and Oitekaze stables (including top division rivals Gonoyama and Daieisho).
If Kotozakura is demoted after this tournament, it would mark an incredible (and negative) turnaround for Kotozakura. Kotozakura had been one of the most consistent performers in 2024 and seemed primed for a yokozuna push in 2025.
Oho has an opportunity to shine
Oho heads into the March tournament having been promoted to his highest rank to date. For March he was advanced from the maegashira 3 ranking all the way to sekiwake (the rank directly below ozeki), skipping over the rank of komusubi (the lowest of the special named upper rankings).
Oho earned his promotion with a 12-3 record and a second place finish to Hoshoryu in January. Oho, the grandson of the legendary yokozuna Taiho, looked incredible in January and seemed to be realizing a potential than many believed possible for the 25 year-old.
Oho’s 12 wins is his highest win total ever and just the fourth time he’s collected double-digit victories in the top division. In January he was also awarded with a technique prize for using a wide variety of kimarite (finishing moves).
In the last tournament Oho managed to beat many wrestlers ranked above him, including Onosato, Daieisho, Abi, Wakamotoharu, Wakatakakage and Tobizaru.
He’ll need to replicate that kind of form to be competitive as a sekiwake. In this tournament, for the first time in his career, he will be fed a steady diet of high ranked and elite opponents.
Can Daieisho continue his run for ozeki?
Daieisho is the only other sekiwake in the sport right now. He has held that position for the past two tournaments. Sekiwake is the launchpad for an ozeki promotion. To attain that rank, which is incredibly revered in sumo, a wrestler generally needs to amass 33 wins across three consecutive tournaments.
Daieisho has 19 wins across his last two tournaments. If he went 14-1 in this tournament he would achieve that 33 win mark.
However, in sumo these rules are not written in stone. Promotions also rely a lot on context and, frankly, vibes.
Daieisho’s 22 wins are due to an 8-7 record in November and an 11-4 record in January. It’s very unlikely that an ozeki would be promoted if a 8-7 record was part of the three tournament period of consideration.
However, if Daieisho were to win this tournament with a 14-1 record and beat the yokozuna, then there might be a case to be made (especially if Kotozakura is demoted — the JSA always likes to have two ozeki on a given banzuke).
Most likely, though, Daieisho needs to bank a solid number of wins this tournament to set him up with a legitimate shot at promotion at the May tournament.
Daieisho has been here before. The 31 year-old has ten sekiwake tournaments to his name. However, he’s just never been able to maintain consistency enough to get very close to an ozeki promotion.
Time’s not on his side, though. If he wants to progress past sekiwake this is a make or break year for him.
Is Aonishiki ready for the big show?
Ukrainian wrestler Aonishiki was promoted to makuuchi (the top division) for this tournament. This is the first top division tournament for the 20 year-old. Aonishiki has made it to makuuchi after just eight pro tournaments, where he went 60-12.
That record has rightly earned him a lot of hype as one of the most exciting young prospects in the sport. His rise comes at a transitional time for European sumo. In the last two years we’ve seen the retirements of Tochinoshin (Georgia) and Aoiyama (Bulgaria). Those were two of the most popular European wrestlers the sport has ever seen.
Aonishiki is joined in the top division by Shishi, a fellow Ukrainian who was also promoted for this tournament. This will be Shishi’s second top division tournament.
The previously discussed Oho also has Ukrainian heritage. His grandfather, Taiho, was born to a Japanese women and a Ukrainian father on the island of Sakhalin (present day Russia).
March will see Aonishiki face the best opponents of his career to date. No doubt he’ll be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Takerufuji, who won this tournament a year ago in his top division debut.
More sumo coverage on Combat Press
Combat Press will include a viewing guide, mid-way and final results for the Spring tournament. If you’d like even more sumo coverage, subscribe to my newsletter Sumo Stomp! That newsletter will provide daily updates, highlights and analysis during the tournament.